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Good Luck Bad Luck!

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

Everything that seems on the surface to be an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the surface may really be an evil. So we are wise when we leave it to God to decide what good fortune is and what misfortune, and thank him that all things turn out for good with those who love him.

Text 21 Wedding Information

In this article, you will learn about traditions observed in three different wedding ceremonies.

A common practice among Jewish couples is the tradition of the bride circling her groom seven times under the wedding canopy. She does this because the phrase "and when a man takes a wife" is mentioned seven times in the Bible. The circling is also significant of the seven days of creation and the Bible story in which Jacob labored for seven years for Rachel.

Another tradition Jewish couples observe during wedding ceremonies is the breaking of a glass underfoot by the groom. When he does this, the wedding party shouts Mazel Tov! a dozen times. This is done because of the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is recorded in a sacred Jewish book that during the joyous wedding of an important man, he took a glass of great value and shattered it, startling his guests. When asked why he did this, he told them that even in the midst of the most joyous occasion, one should never forget the destruction and loss of our Temple.

In many American weddings, it is tradition for the bride to throw her bouquet out to her guests. The person who catches it is said to be the one who will be the next to marry. In a typical American wedding, it is said to be bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the day of the wedding before the ceremony has taken place. It is also considered to be bad luck for the groom to see the wedding dress at anytime before the ceremony.

In the days of slavery in America, there was no way to legally recognize the union of slaves in marriage, since slaves were not seen as citizens. So in order for slaves to demonstrate their union in marriage, they would jump over a broomstick, the woman jumping one way, the man jumping the other way. This was their way of recognizing that a marriage had taken place.

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